Unrequited Love
by captainwonderbuns
Summary: Romilda and Ginny prepare for the Yule Ball. No one is getting what they want...or who they want for Christmas.


Ananda entered the third year girl's dorm, wrapped in a fluffy towel and still damp from her shower. One of her roommates, Romilda Vane, lounged on the bed opposite hers dressed in blue flannel pajamas. Romilda's petulant expression made her look like a cat that couldn't quite reach the cream. Ananda was fairly certain she knew what that was about. Suppressing a smile she sat at the desk next to her bed, retrieved a bottle of Professor Glint's Hair Tonic and began to apply it liberally to her raven colored mane.

"So you've been invited to the ball," Romilda said sourly.

"Terry Boot asked me yesterday," Ananda replied.

Romilda frowned. "Terry Boot," she said, "He's that Ravenclaw, right? The swotty one. Why would you go with him?"

"He's not that bad," Ananda replied. "Besides third years can't go unless they're invited and no one else was likely to ask me. Why aren't you getting ready? I thought Ernie Mc Millen asked you."

Face burning, Romilda looked away as Ananda began to brush her hair.

"I didn't want to go with him," she said, her voice tight with suppressed anger.

Ananda's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "You asked Harry, didn't you?"

Romilda didn't answer immediately. She sat and fumed while Ananda brushed her hair. Romilda had been fascinated with Harry Potter from the moment she had laid eyes on him. She wasn't a sycophantic fan girl, trailing after him in puppy like adoration like Colin Creevy. She also wasn't pining silently the way Ginny Weasely did. Romilda was intensely jealous of anyone who was close to Harry, and sharply critical of every action he took that didn't follow her imagined plan of conquest and domination. She was critical of Harry quite a lot, which made Ananda think better of him.

"He just stared at me," she said suddenly, "He didn't even say no he just stared and then ran away, right in front of divination class so everyone saw. It was utterly humiliating."

Ananda chuckled, drawing a sharp glance from her roommate.

"Don't feel too bad," Ananda said, "you aren't the only one he did that to. Frankly, I think it's only just occurred to him that girls aren't just boys in dresses, and he has no idea what to do about it."

Romilda snorted. Give Harry a dozen rabid Death Eaters to play with and he will square his jaw, draw his wand and charge into battle with all the finesse of a rampaging rottweiler puppy. Confront him with a girl and he turns red and loses the power of speech.

"Of course," continued Ananda, unable to resist teasing the other girl, "with all the time he's been spending closeted away with Ron Weasley, maybe he has figured it out and he just prefers…"

"He's not like that!" Romilda shouted, leaping to her feat. "You're just jealous because you didn't ask him out yourself."

Ananda laughed. "Like I have any interest in Harry Potter," she said.

"What's wrong with Harry," Romilda asked crossly.

"Nothing particularly he's just not my type."

"And Terry Boot is your type?" Romilda sneered.

"No, Not really," Ananda admitted, "but he asked me to the dance and I want to go. I've got to see this train wreck myself."

Romilda snorted. "So if Harry had asked you instead of Pavarti would you have gone?"

Ananda considered for a moment. "No."

"Really?" Romilda scoffed.

"I don't have any more problem spending time with Harry than with Terry," Ananda said, unperturbed by Romilda's derision, "Less actually, Harry isn't as pretentious. But it would kill Ginny."

. "I don't know why she bothers. He barely even looks at her," Romilda said, eyes narrowing at the mention of her rival. She set her chin at a prideful angle. "She's much too timid for him. He needs someone bold like he is."

"And that would be you, I take it?" Ananda asked, clearly amused.  
"Well now that you mention it," Romilda said smirking, "I did have the courage to ask him out, unlike little Ginny Weasely."

"Which sent him scurrying for the hills as I recall," Ananda sneered, "Very productive. What will you do for an encore, dip his pigtails in ink?"

"At least I'm not settling for the first boy to come along," Romilda shot back.

"I'm not settling for anything," Ananda said evenly. "I'm going to the ball with Terry, not slavishly devoting myself to his every whim."

"Nor am I," Romilda answered hotly, "Harry is beautiful and famous and I love him and he will be mine!"

"And if he doesn't want you?"

Romlida glared, her jaw tightening in anger. Too furious to respond, she leapt to her feet and stormed from the room.

"What was that about?" asked Ginny Weasley as entered mere moments after Romilda's dramatic exit.

"Harry," replied Ananda with an exhasperated sigh. She pulled a large mirror out of her trunk and set it on the desk. Several small containers of cosmetics quickly followed it.

"Oh," said Ginny, "was she obsessing about him again."

Ananda arched an eyebrow at her.

"I do not obsess about Harry," Ginny shot back. She stuck her tongue out and walked to her bed, chin tilted haughtily in the air. Ananda laughed. Unable to maintain her pose, the red headed witch giggled.

"Well, not anymore," she conceded. In a firmer voice she continued, "I refuse to waste my time with someone who isn't capable of noticing me"

Ananda frowned and touched her makeup mirror. The mirror began to glow, illuminating her face. Taking one of her brushes and filling it with pigment, she began to apply color to the image in the mirror. As she touched her image with the brush she could feel pigment being applied to her own face.

"You've been talking to Hermione again." she said, struggling to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"Well what if I have?" said Ginny defiantly, "Beating my head against a brick wall won't make him notice me, at least not the way I want him to."

"I've been telling you that for years. But if Hermione Granger telling you the same thing gets through to you then so be it," Ananda shot back.

Finally producing a small box from her trunk, Ginny repacked the trunk and slid it back under her bed. She took the box and sat on the bed next to Ananda, in almost the same spot that Romilda had just vacated. For a moment she didn't speak, just sat next to her friend.

"It's just that you've always had a thing about Harry." Ginny said abruptly, "I've never understood what you had against him,"

"Don't you," asked Ananda. "For years the only girl he ever spoke to was Hermione, who is so obviously hung up on your brother that even Harry 'Captain Oblivious' Potter couldn't miss it. Teasing Romilda aside, I was seriously beginning to wonder about his sexuality. And when he finally does notice girls, who does he pick? Not the beautiful, intelligent person who has spent the last three years practically begging for his attention, but that cow Cho Chang, who's only redeeming quality appears to be that she looks good straddling a broom. The number of times I've heard you cry yourself to sleep over that…that boy and you wonder why I dislike him."

Ginny was stunned by the bitterness in her friend's voice.

"He saved my life once," she said quietly.

Ananda sighed. "I didn't say he wasn't a good person. I didn't even say he wasn't nice, when you can actually get him to talk to you in coherent sentances. That just makes him that much more irritating because you can't actually hate him. I do however find him self absorbed and arrogant and he treats you like utter crap, and you don't deserve that."

"Ron treats me like crap too, but you don't rail about him like that." Ginny opened the box she had retrieved from her trunk and produced some jewelry, which she began to fasten to her.

"You don't fancy Ron," the brunette witch replied, "Which is a good thing because he's your brother and that's just creepy. Besides, family always treats you like crap. Lavender barely acknowledges that she's my sister, unless she needs me to be her living dress-up doll."

Ananda paused, tilting her head in consideration.

"You know," she continued. "Speaking of ambiguous sexuality I still wonder about your brother, the way he's been mooning over Krum all term."

Ginny snickered.

"What?"

"You should have been at the world cup with us," Ginny said, "Ron went on about him for days."

"Really knows how to handle his broom, does he?"

Ginny's snicker turned into a full laugh.

"You see, this is why you're my friend," Ananda said grinning, "we're in the middle of a fight about your obsession with Harry, and you can still have a sense of humor about it."

"And you can be the biggest bitch I've ever met," the red head said, still smiling, "then you say something that makes what we were fighting about seem funny."

"I find most things funny," Ananda said with a shrug. She turned back to put the finishing touches on her makeup. "Not everyone gets my jokes though. Romilda has no sense of humor, she completely blows up at the least little thing. You're much more fun to play with."

Ginny sighed. "I know it's silly the way I go on about him and I shouldn't care what he thinks, but he really is an amazing person. He rescued me from that ..."

"Giant basilisk," said Ananda, clasping her hands to her breasts and gasping in worshipful adoration, "and trounced the dastardly Tom Riddle before running down that blackguard Sirius Black and giving him a sound thrashing, and as soon as he finds this Voldemort fellow he'll…"

Laughing, Ginny grabbed a pillow from the bed and pelted her friend, who grinned and threw it back.

"Oh alright," Ginny laughed, "I said I was being silly. I don't care what he thinks of me, I'm not going to pine over him any more. I'm going out with Neville aren't I?"

"That's true."

"Still, I would like him to notice me though. Just once." Ginny paused and looked away and continued in a very quiet voice. "Do I look pretty tonight?"

Ananda turned to regard her friend. Long red hair cascaded down her willowy frame like ginger rain. The sides had been swept back and clipped with a silver clasp. Embracing her torso was an off the shoulder empire waist dress in cinnamon satin. Artfully applied cosmetics softened her strong features which were downcast and embarrassed. Resting in the hollow of her throat was a pendant with a single blue stone the exact shade of her eyes. Matching earrings glittered in her ears.

"You're beautiful."

Ginny blushed. "You're being kind."

Ananda stood and stepped closer to Ginny. With two fingers she raised her friend's chin until they were eye to eye.

"You are beautiful," Ananda repeated firmly, "and if Harry Bloody Potter can't see that then he is a fool."

Ginny smiled shyly and dropped her eyes.

"Oh don't cry." Ananda sat next to her friend and enveloped her in a hug. Ginny held on for a moment then pulled back and started to wipe the tears from her eyes. Ananda quickly grabbed hand.

"No!" Ananda exclaimed grabbing at some wipes. "Dab or you'll smear everything."

"I thought you hated make up." Ginny struggled to keep the tears from her voice.

Ananda gently dabbed at the redhead's eyes. "I grew up a room away from Lavender. I don't wear it often, but I do know how."

"Then why didn't you do mine," Ginny asked plaintively, "I had to sit and listen to Lavender and Parvati giggle at me for over an hour. I nearly strangled the both of them."

Ananda smirked. "I do alright on my own face, but I couldn't have done this for you. Annoying she may be, but Lavender is the expert. There, much better. "

"Thank you," Ginny said with a rueful smile.

Ananda stole a look at the alarm clock on her desk, which read twenty to eight.

"Aren't you supposed to meet Neville about now?" she said.

Ginny nodded.

"Well what are you waiting for? Go."

With a grin Ginny leapt for the door.

"If you see Terry tell him I'll be just a few minutes," Ananda called after her friend.

The brunette pulled her dressing gown around her and stepped out on the landing. Neville stood in the center of the common room, utterly thunderstruck. With a shy smile tugging at her lips Ginny approached him. They spoke briefly, or rather Ginny spoke and Neville nodded dumbly, and then she took his arm and they left. Neville's eyes never left her. They passed Romilda sitting in an armchair staring at the fireplace, jaw clenched in jealous rage.

Ananda stood hidden in the shadow of a pillar, looking down on Ginny and her date, a smile tinged with sadness on her face. Neville wasn't likely to blossom into a real relationship, but at least Ginny would spend the evening in the company of someone who recognized her beauty and would pay her the attention she deserved. Ananda thought that was a far healthier solution than sulking in the common room because you couldn't have what you wanted.

When they had left, Ananda closed her eyes and leaned against the pillar. She could still feel the warmth of Ginny's hug, still smell the cinnamon and apples of her hair. Ginny's laugh still rang in her ears.

"Looks like no one is getting what they want for Christmas," she whispered. She turned and walked back to the dormitory to get ready for her date.


End file.
